Hi from NorCal.

[primalsmoke]

Hi,
I've been working on a system that I inherited from somebody who was clueless.
(Not to say that I'm not clueless, but much less so)

He ripped put an Analog system and put in an IP system.

The wiring and connections had been exposed to the elements. Corrosion in the cameras RJ-45 jacks. Sheet metal buildings that run hot, I got a shock from one, fried some cameras when I replaced POE power source with one that was grounded.
Out of 35+ cameras only about 4 were working when I took over. Got most running only to see them die over and over. Cameras (Foscams) would lock up often.

I deployed new backbone CAT-V revived the cameras, only to see them die. There are about 12 that are still working.

I'm having to deploy a second Blue Iris server. There was a big improvement from 3.x to 4.x!
My current BI server craps out at 18-22, especially after I got the HD cameras.

I'm at around 40 cameras, I had to disable half. Probably will settle at close to 50 for that site.
It's a large storage yard.


A second site is much smaller, going to deploy a UBNT NVR and six cameras. I'm setting that one up from scratch.

Will connect from primary site over 2 kilometers away. Connection will be via Ubiquiti Nanostation 5G, not to stream but to review NVR at site.

I logged on to find what kind of Video card is needed for an i7 and Blue Iris

Richard

 

[bp2008]

Hello!

It sounds like you have your work cut out for you.

You do not need a video card for Blue Iris. The integrated graphics on the i7 chip will be more than sufficient. If you don't have it yet, you can get a great deal on refurbished i7 systems from Dell. For instance last week a friend of mine picked up a complete i7-4790 system with 8 GB RAM and a 128GB SSD, 3 year warranty, for $860 at the dell business outlet. Minus $400 with a coupon code = $460 (before tax). The coupon codes are the key to success. Sometimes there are better codes out there than others; Dell goes through several sales each month so you just have to keep an eye on their social media pages for the start of the next good sale.

I know it is probably horrible of me to say this, as I am a big fan of UBNT products in general and previously an Aircam fan, but UBNT cameras are not cost-effective anymore. Their latest generation of cameras was about 2 or 3 years too late to be competetive. $130 for a 1 megapixel camera that has no 3rd party NVR support whatsoever? No thank you. $430 for the 2 megapixel version? You've got to be kidding, UBNT. These cameras don't even provide an RTSP video stream anymore (which even the cheapest chinese cams will give you), yet they are priced like premium products.

 

[primalsmoke]

Hi BP,

Thanks for the tip on the Dell and the Video Card info. It is appreciated. After posting I kept on digging and found the similar info.
I got a good deal on a new one (not as good as the business outlet deal), i7 4790, 16GB, 1TB 7200 RPM. It was $799, and they threw in a free TV.
Dell separated the orders, tried to ship the TV , but Chase fraud department declined the payment. I saw an email from Chase and validated the purchase of the TV. Dell never re-submitted the TV order ($200), but did go ahead and submit the Computer order once it was built. So I got the computer for $599. I will keep an eye out for coupon codes!

It is not horrible for you to say that the Ubnt line of cameras are not a good choice. I agree. When I was considering the order I thought the cameras were HD (base on price), I didn't really look at the specs, just put them in the Amazon wish list, to review later. My customer went ahead and ordered everything in the wish list. I was surprised when they showed up and even more when the resolution was so low for the price..
I also love Ubnt. One thing about Ubnt cameras, they can write to local SD card or a NAS. So I decided to keep them.

The site I'm working\learning will need over 50 cameras, I'm at 40 now but can only handle 22 with the current BI server.

They have a secondary site with no ISP that is perfect for the Ubnt NVR. There is no place to put a computer, DVR or even a laptop. Also the longest distances are 50 yards, most are up to 30. So building a spot to house a server, getting a server and only having 6 cameras made the Ubnt a good good choice. Plus I really like the mounts. Somehow I'm getting finicky about mounts you can really tighten the Ubnts down. The cameras will also mount to http://amzn.com/B00068YUN4 (Winegard DS-2000 Universal Antenna Mount with U-bolts), which puts the camera a little away from the building.

The secondary site is little over 2 Km away from the larger site and I believe I have line of sight. I'll use a couple of Nanostation 5 to connect. I'm not going to push video over the link.

thanks again.

Richard